🔗 Share this article Within Insurgent-Controlled Burma, Ordinary People Confront Catastrophic Bombing Raids and a Fake Election Iang Za Kim had to flee her home following the regime carried out air strikes close by. In the dead of night last month, a resident heard detonations in a neighbouring village, followed by military aircraft flying overhead. She ran out her home to see plumes of smoke from a distance. "We were horrified. We feared the military's aircraft would bomb us too. So we took what we could carry – provisions and garments and ran into the woodlands encircling our village." Iang's face quivers as she narrates the account of what occurred on 26 November in K-Haimual, located in Myanmar's western Chin area. She belongs to numerous people who've evacuated their homes in the last month subsequent to the Myanmar army launched a intensive operation of aerial attacks, alongside infantry advances in resistance territory across the country. Many civilians have sought refuge in the neighboring country to flee the violence in Burma. Some from Chin state have described the regime's newest campaign as the most brutal it has conducted in over three years. Many of the displaced have sought refuge in different areas of the state. Iang is among a group that entered into the Indian state of Mizoram. At present residing in a rundown badminton court in Vaphai, the group's few belongings they were able to carry are contained in sacks. An octogenarian has had to escape his village at the age of 80, staying in temporary huts in jungles for days, prior to eventually reaching a secure location. "We're afraid of our own government. They are extremely cruel. Their military has come into our and other villages in the past, they've arrested people, tortured them, and destroyed residences," he says. It is challenging to interview Burmese civilians freely. Myanmar's regime restricts open movement in the country for international reporters. It assumed power in the country in a military takeover in February 2021, not long after the last election. Civilian Cost and Deliberate Strikes During its latest offensive, the junta in the past week attacked a clinic in Rakhine. Rebel groups in Rakhine say at least 30 people were lost their lives and more than 70 injured. An advocacy group says that since mid-September at least several educational institutions and six churches in Chin State have been attacked by military bombing, causing the death of 12 people including six children. Evidence confirms the shelling of a school in Vanha village on 13 October. Two students were killed as they were attending lessons. The bombs devastated their classrooms wounding more than a dozen other students. A refugee says the scheduled elections are a sham. This is the second time, Bawi Nei Lian and his young family – a wife and two young children - have been made homeless. Previously in 2021, following the coup, their home was razed in an air strike. They started over in another village. Now they're without a home once more. "It's hard to express to explain how painful and hard it is and what a difficult decision it was to make to leave. But we had to do it to preserve our lives," he says. A Disputed Electoral Process A prominent political group, which won overwhelming majorities in the two elections preceding the coup, will not be contesting as the majority of its leadership are detained. "We don't want the election. Because the military does not know how to govern our country. They only work for the interest of their senior officers. When the previous government was in power, we experienced a taste of democracy. But now all we do is weep and mourn," says Ral Uk Thang. Another displaced woman believes the election will be fixed. "If we participated for a party not allied with the military, I believe they will falsify the outcome and claim we voted for them." The poll will take place in phases, with a result expected around the end of January. Rebel groups have called it a farce. Resistance Battleground and Sacrifices In a headquarters of a key resistance organization operating in the state, a leader states: "This vote is only being held to prolong military dictatorship. It's not about the public's voice." He highlights the areas where the most intense fighting is ongoing. "Battalions of hundreds of soldiers trying to push into the northern part of Chin state from multiple fronts," he says. "The soldiers are being aided by air strikes, artillery fire and by unmanned aerial vehicles." A young fighter was severely wounded fighting against the military. Visits to such bases is extremely rare. Set amid wooded hills, it is the center of the opposition to the junta in Chin state. In a hospital at the base, numerous injured fighters had arrived overnight and had to undergo hours of surgery. Some of them have had to undergo surgeries. Several were just schoolboys when the coup occurred in 2021. Now young adults, they've abandoned their dreams to engage in combat against the junta. "During the pullback we ran forward and I triggered a landmine. We were injured in the explosion. Then we were attacked from the air. The airstrikes make things very challenging for us," says one injured fighter. "Despite my injury, if I must sacrifice my life I'm happy to make the sacrifice so that those who follow have a improved existence." The impact of the ferocity of the latest offensive is evident in ward after ward at the hospital. Nevertheless, it's the determination and resolve of countless numbers of youngsters who picked up arms that have helped the rebels make significant gains against a much more powerful rival. Individuals such as 80-year-old the elderly refugee hope that following the vote, the junta will retreat, and he will be able to repatriate. "However, I doubt I will live to see democracy restored in Myanmar," he says. "I wish my children and grandchildren can experience it some day."